The present invention generally relates to medical devices, and more particularly to devices, apparatus and methods for draining fluid from an eye or other internal body location.
Patients suffering from conditions such as glaucoma may be treated by reduction of the fluid pressure within the eye (or intraocular pressure) to protect the function of the optic nerve. In cases resistant to medication and laser surgery, a variety of surgical techniques and devices may be used to drain fluid from the eye to reduce intraocular pressure (IOP). Examples of some such devices are described in, U.S. Pat. No. 6,881,397 (Nigam) as well as in U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. US 2005/0119601 A9 (Lynch et al) and US 2005/0192527 A1 (Gharib et al.).
The conventional devices and/or methods typically provide a fistula within the eye that allows fluid to exit the eye to reduce the fluid pressure within the eye. The fluid can then be reabsorbed by the vasculature around the eye. To reduce the risk of low IOP or hypotony, some of the devices may include pressure-based valves or other structures to limit fluid outflow through the device. Conventional shunts, for example, may be provided with suture material located within the lumen of a tube shunt to reduce flow therethrough. In other instances, the tubes may be tied off with sutures to limit flow.
The present invention provides apparatus and methods for controllably draining fluid from an internal body location (such as an eye) by locating the device in or near the internal body location (e.g., the eye) and forming one or more openings in the device after its insertion. Preferably, the size and/or number of the openings can be selected to offer control over the rate at which fluid exits the eye. That control may preferably offer some corresponding control over hypotony.
It is an advantage of the present invention to provide a modifiable shunt tube tip for controllable flow of fluid from the eye.
It is another advantage of the present invention to provide an insertable tube tip that can act as a stand-alone fistula or seton.
It is yet another advantage of the present invention to provide method for insertion of a shunt tube tip into the anterior chamber of the eye.
It is still yet another advantage of the present invention to provide a laser configurable shunt tube tip.
It is another advantage of the present invention to provide a shunt tube tip of varying dimensions and configurations to control fluid flow.